Deutsche Bank AG seized control of 20 tons of gold from Venezuela after Caracas defaulted on a $750 million gold swap agreement with the German lender, Bloomberg News reported June 5, citing "two people with direct knowledge of the matter."

The seizure is part of a gold-backed financing agreement signed between Venezuela and Deutsche Bank in 2016. The settlement came earlier than the agreement's scheduled expiration in 2021 due to missed interest payments, the sources told Bloomberg.

Opposition leader Juan Guaidó asked the German bank to deposit $120 million into an account that is outside of President Nicolas Maduro's control. That amount represents the difference in price from when the gold was acquired to current levels, the report said.

A spokesman for Deutsche Bank declined Bloomberg's request for comment.

Guaidó, who declared himself Venezuela's interim president in January, is recognized by the U.S. and other nations as the Latin American country's legitimate leader.

In March, the Venezuelan government failed to repurchase nearly $1.1 billion worth of precious metals used as collateral for its loan with Citigroup Inc.